In case you missed this, overnight in Brazil some scalpers got their comeuppance.

Police have broken up a ticket-touting ring in Rio de Janeiro and arrested its alleged ringleader, a businessman with ties to many of Brazil’s best-known footballers. Mohamadou Lamine Fofana claims to be a consultant and agent to clubs and players. The website for his company, Atlanta Sportif International, shows photographs of him with Pelé, Ronaldo, Romário and Dunga. He was arrested along with 10 people during a raid in which police seized 100 tickets and about 10,000 reais (£2,600), according to the Globo website. Investigators said the sting was the culmination of a month-long inquiry into the inflated sales of tickets intended for sponsors, NGOs and three national delegations, including Brazil’s."

“I’ve said in the past that I’d like to play in Spain one day, because it is a league that is good technically, and where you get a lot of touches on the ball, which is my style. The Premier League is maybe a bit physical at this stage. But I am a Monaco player and I’m not thinking about anything like that at the moment. I am now just concentrating on Brazil, which is going to be a wonderful experience for us."

James Rodriguez to Burnley is a no-go. Photograph: Paolo Aguilar/EPA

Updated at 4.30pm BST

4.19pm BST

Vote! Vote! Vote! Who will make the semi-finals of the World Cup? Here's our poll. I reckon it will be France, Argentina and Holland but I can't make my mind up between Colombia and Brazil. I reckon this may be the game that the 104-year-old Mario Yepes finally gets exposed. And I think Brazil's huge wave of emotion might just tip the balance in their favour despite James Rodriguez and co's best attacking efforts. Oh, I don't know. You decide.

4.11pm BST

Questions ! Questions! Questions! I believe Barney Ronay has now conquered technical glitches and is now online in a kind of World Cup agony-aunt role to answer your Brazil 2014-related queries.

Reader: Barney, other than Fred, who in this World Cup would you let take a penalty for you if your house depended on it?

Barney replies: Balotelli maybe? David Luiz is good. Hazard always looks calm. Not Neymar because all that jinking gives me the willies.

The lurgee, mind-games or an early excuse? You decide. Joachim Löw has claimed that seven Germany players are suffering from mild flu and "throat aches" a day before the quarter-final ding-dong with the impressive French. He hasn't named them all, though, but did say that Christoph Kramer had a curious case of the chills and Mats Hummels was feeling particularly ropey after all the travel around Brazil. Here's what he had to say …

"Seven players have somehow come down with slight cases of the flu. As a result, it's too early to make any final decisions about the lineup. I hope they're all doing well now. It's not all that bad at the moment. I don't want to dramatise it. Mats Hummels suffered a negative setback on the second day."

Germany need some World Cup tissues.

Updated at 3.43pm BST

3.23pm BST

On the subject of worst players at the World Cup, surely Russia's Igor Akinfeev deserves to be in goal for his stunning impression of 2013's Joe Hart against South Korea.

I think tactically, the team was not set up to succeed. They were set up in a way that was opposite from what they’ve been the past couple years, which is opening up, passing, attacking – trying to do that. And the team’s been successful that way. Why they decided to switch that in the World Cup, none of us will know. From a playing standpoint, I think the guys will probably be disappointed in the way things went.”

Because the United States have always been known for tiki-taka, Landon, haven't they?

2.55pm BST

And with that I am out. Gregg Bakowski will be the man in the hot seat for the rest of the day. Thanks for all the emails and tweets. Speak soon. Bye!

2.50pm BST

David Wall has been in touch about the worst XI. Says David:

Perhaps the entire Cameroon side, but if that's going a bit far then certainly their captain and main striker. Played one game in which he barely seemed interested. Rather than putting himself in the shop window being out of contract, he put himself in the remained bin along with those autobiographies of Ashley Cole, and Glenn Hoddle's World Cup Diary.

Updated at 2.50pm BST

2.40pm BST

From one of our men on the ground:

Owen Gibson (@owen_g)

Not everyone in celebratory mood. This from Bahia Independence Day parade: "Your vote is worth more than football!" pic.twitter.com/L6rcuF7wbh

From Fabio Capello to Kevin-Prince Boateng via Miguel Herrera, departing players and coaches aren’t going quietly. Gregg Bakowski has spent hours upon hours
Googling
performing painstaking research to put all their quotes in once place. The result is this:

Russia blinded by the light

Fabio Capello’s side hardly lit up the tournament with two draws and a defeat before tumbling out. And the former England manager was feeling particularly prickly after the 1-1 draw with Algeria that led to their elimination. But rather than focus on the lack of illuminating football played by his team as the reason for their exit, it was a dazzling light in the stands directed at his goalkeeper that bothered him. “There are pictures. You can see that in the footage. This not an excuse, it is a fact. There was a laser. I have never come up with excuses to get by in my entire life,” growled Capello. Asked if his complaints deflected attention from the performance of Algeria, Capello responded: “Never, never. I would never do that. You have to listen to when I speak so that I don’t have to repeat the same things.”

Boateng lashes out at lack of Princely treatment

Kevin-Prince Boateng, not a man who is shy of speaking his mind, channelled his inner Roy Keane in Brazil, getting himself booted out of the squad for criticising the Ghanaian Federation for treating the players like normal people. “It was a nightmare from the first day of preparation until the end. I never thought that you could organise a World Cup preparation and a World Cup that badly: hotels, flights – everything in an amateurish way. Our flight from Miami to Brazil took 12 hours. We were in economy class, packed. The legs hurt. For a pro, that’s an insult. Meanwhile, our president sat in business class with his wife and his two kids. In Brazil the people responsible managed to lose my luggage. I did not have my football boots for days, no tapes, nothing. It was a disaster.” And it got worse for the poor lad. “Prior to the match against the US we slept in a sleazy hotel. This one can never have been recommended by Fifa. The rooms were wet. I had to change my room because it was like a swimming pool. There was water dripping from the ceiling.”

At Euro 2012, England rigidly stuck to the ol' 'two banks of four', and hoofed it up to the big man. Would Peter McFarlane praise them for 'respecting their footballing past and philosophy'? We'd all like to see a display of free flowing, 1982-esque football from Brazil, but can we really blame them for taking a more pragmatic approach if they feel it's their best chance of success? Socrates' words are lovely, but sadly out of touch with football today. I wish it were different, but it's not.

2.12pm BST

David Hytner reckons Manuel Neuer’s display against Algeria has haunted France with memories of one of the World Cup’s most notorious incidents. He writes:

Joachim Löw called him extraordinary; Franz Beckenbauer described him as a tougher-tackling libero than he was, while on the internet the death-or-glory performance drew the comparison to Chuck Norris.

Manuel Neuer was Germany’s hero of the World Cup last-16 victory over Algeria on Monday, when he not only kept goal with customary assurance but moonlighted as a sweeper behind an extremely high back-line. On numerous occasions, he raced from his penalty area to make tackles and even one diving header.

It was high-stakes stuff and he got away with it when the Algeria striker, Islam Slimani, took the ball around him only to find the angle to goal too tight. But Neuer was otherwise thrillingly effective, even if it was not always possible to feel entirely secure about his role. He was a factor in setting up the quarter-final tie with France in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.

To many France supporters, though – particularly those of a certain age – there was a haunting quality to the display. To them, the sight of a German goalkeeper charging off his line to challenge an opposition player took them back to one of the World Cup’s most notorious incidents.

What West Germany’s Toni Schumacher did to Patrick Battiston in the classic España 82 semi-final will never be forgotten or forgiven in France. And, despite the efforts of Löw, the Germany manager, or Didier Deschamps, his France counterpart, to consign the flashpoint to history, there is little doubt that it has framed the meeting at the Maracanã.

Peter McFarlane does not have anything to say about what he believes to be the best/worst XI in this World Cup but he does have a response to Neyamr's press conference jabberings. Says Peter:

How appropriate that your post about Neymar saying his team's main focus is to win the quarter-final against Colombia and not to put on a show was right next to an advert for Guardian t-shirts with this quote from legendary Brazilian football player, Socrates "beauty comes first, victory is secondary - what matters is joy". This generation of Brazilian footballers don't deserve to progress if they don't respect their own footballing past and philosophy. Colombia seem to respect it more.

Neymar has been talking to the press. He says his team's main focus is
not to cry
to win the quarter-final against Colombia and not to put on a show, after the squad was criticised for playing boring football. He also says it's not Brazil's main priority to 'put a smile on everybody's faces' and is instead working hard to become champions for the sixth time. You can see utter all this jazz in this handy video:

Incidentally, if you think you know more about this best XI business than Zico or the brains at Whoscored, then please feel free to email in your suggestions. Or, if you prefer, you can send your most disappointing XI of the World Cup so far, that way we can discuss how bad Mario Götze has been. Either are good. The necessary address is above.

1.24pm BST

The afternoon's first email. And it comes from Jonathon Moloney, who wants to have a word or two with you about the Whoscored Best XI and Essaid Belkalem. Says Jonathon:

Seeing the whoscored Best XI I must say I'm immensely proud of Essaid Belkalem. Despite the patronising tone of itv's commentators the other night about both Watford and Essaid, I have to say I was really impressed by him when I saw him last season. He looked completely at home in our back three, composed and commanding. Fans of big teams might not understand this pride, but as I'll never get to see my team win any trophies, it's things like this that make it all worth while. You da man, Essaid!

Do you hate your job? And I mean, really hate your job. Do you spit in your bosses coffee? Do you blow your nose in their sandwich? Instead of going home at night do you go direct to the pub because the only thing that softens the blow of returning to that squalid hell hole is alcohol? Worry no more. Salvation is at hand. And it comes in the form of THE GREATEST GAME KNOWN TO MAN AND WOMAN. I got Gaizka Mendieta.

12.43pm BST

The laughter. The darkness. The emptiness. It must be today's O Fiverão. Today it featuresnothingness, Russian MPs v Fabio Capello, Paddy Kenny and York City’s maverick funding plans.

12.35pm BST

If anyone wants to send this to the Guardian Sports desk just to thank us for all the hard work we are putting in over the summer, the address is Kings Place, 90 York Way London N1 9AG. Thanks in advance.

Here are the guys who deserve to be in Zico's World Cup XI. And here are the guys who deserve to be in WhoScored's World Cup XI from the round of 16. If you are finding it hard to fill the void in your life on these rest days, you can play spot the difference.

Who Scored's team from the last 16. Hey that rhymes. Photograph: /Screengrab

Zico's team so far. Photograph: /Getty Images

Updated at 12.32pm BST

12.17pm BST

Meanwhile in Brazil ...

Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney)

They were building up France-Germany on one of the Brazilian TV stations last night. Just a few shots of the Nazis marching into Paris...

Here we go. The studs are OK but the hamstrings are a bit tight and the gold chain – complete with cross – and diamond earring had to come off. And with that here I am and ready to run about, put in a shift and hope to make a difference with my fresh fingers.

11.51am BST

Right, I notice that over on the touchline the fourth official is holding up my number. Standing next to him is Ian McCourt, currently going through his pre-match routine of calisthenics and having his studs examined. He'll be your guide for the first part of the afternoon.

The World Cup best shirt debate: as far as I can tell we've now have nominations for Colombia, Mexico, France home, France away, USA away, Iran, Holland, Ghana, Uruguay, Italy home, Italy away, Germany away, Russia, Belgium away and Honduras. And the more I think about it, the more I like the Australia shirt, and the quiet simplicity of both Greece efforts.

Perhaps it'll be easier, then, to come up with a definitive worst shirt of the tournament. Which is surely this:

Cristiano Ronaldo contemplates the design of the Portugal home shirt. Photograph: Paulo Duarte/AP

10.54am BST

Today's big news is that Germany are in the vice-like grip of a flu crisis! Or, more accurately, a few of their players have slight colds. Here's the full story.

Joachim Löw has confirmed that seven of his Germany players are showing symptoms of illness in the buildup to Friday’s World Cup quarter-final against France.

Days after Mats Hummels was ruled out of the game against Algeria due to sickness, the Germany manager said the problem seemed to have spread, without naming specific players.

“Seven players are slightly ill with flu symptoms,” said Löw. “It is not that bad at the moment and it could be partly about air conditioning, the travel, temperature differences. I do not want to make a drama of it. We hope the situation will ease.”

But it's not about hurricanes a blowin' or rivers over flowin'. The lyrics, beginning "Brasil decime qué se siente", bait the host country. "Maradona is better than Pelé", "You've been crying since we beat you at Italia 90", that sort of thing.

Updated at 10.47am BST

10.33am BST

A few other shirt votes coming in below the line. OoughO suggests USA away:

Clint Dempsey catches sight of what he is wearing in a mirror. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

I assume he or she is joking. Mr Mondypops on the other hand plumps for Iran's home kit (also a personal favourite of mine):

I can't believe people are doubting David Wall's existence. I, for one, am glad to see his contributions. Maradona is inextricably linked to the 1986 World Cup. 1998 was dominated by Zidane, even though he only really turned up in the knockout stages. 2002 was original Ronaldo's story. And now, in 2014, I think we can all agree Wall has taken his place among the greats. This is his World Cup. His creativity, his consistency, his bloody-mindedness. What a contributor…"

9.02am BST

Here's some news. Germany have been hit by a flu scare. A Sieben Spieler Grippe-Alarm. Joachim Löw says: "Seven players are somehow slightly ill with flu … There are sore throats … It's not so bad and I don't want to make a drama of it."

Too late. It's a Football Manager classic. Do you send the flu-ridden players home and risk it spreading, or do you leave them to the physio?

Updated at 9.04am BST

8.47am BST

So it's 4.30am in Rio. The
big
only news is that Hong Myung-bo will continue as South Korea coach after the FA talked him out of resigning. Reuters say: "When the squad arrived back home on Monday they were pelted with candy, an insult in Korea, and met with fans holding a placard declaring 'South Korean soccer is dead'." The FA weren't moved though.

Cellino is so suspicious of the number 17 that he had the seats at his former club, Cagliari, taken out and replaced with 16B. Now he has instructed the new Leeds head coach, Dave Hockaday, not to select Paddy Kenny after discovering that the goalkeeper’s birthday is on 17 May. Kenny, the second-highest earner at Leeds on £10,000 a week, has been left at home while the other players embark on a pre-season trip to Italy. He will not play for the club again.

8.28am BST

Morning from London. "World Cup live blog on a day with no game?" asks tj761938. Yes tj761938, no-one said this was easy. But there's good news. Classic YouTube is here! Thanks Classic YouTube. It features this.

Rumour has it that all the teams that had a sex ban during the World Cup were eliminated. I frankly don't think it is proper for players to have sex during the World Cup. The stoppages are already too many, as it is. The cooling break we can bear with but who would want another break in the matches for the players to have sex.

7.48am BST

There have been rumour Maradona will take over as the new Venezuela coach. Venezuela aren't in the World Cup but Maradona played in a few and we're not going back to Pierre Van Hooijdonk so you're reading about this whether you like it or not. Here's the Venezuelan FA. Yep, had them on the phone just now, their number is 0800-S-L-O-W-N-E-W-S-D-A-Y:

There has not been a proposal to hire the famous ex athlete and coach Diego Armando Maradona, despite insistence in recent hours by different media and social networks. The country will know the name of the new coach once the board of directors ... makes the decision, which will be after the World Cup has concluded.

Do they really need to tell us Maradona is famous? You knew that, right?

7.25am BST

Thank God for David Wall. Yesterday there was some discussion in the comments section as to whether he actually exists. He may well be made up for all I know (I've seen Gary Naylor in the flesh so I am pretty sure he exists) but what I am sure of is that an email from David Wall drops into my inbox every day. Maybe it's actually me writing these emails but I don't realise, like in [SPOILER ALERT] Fight Club. But, let's face it, what else are we going to talk about on a day when the biggest news is a former Nottingham Forest striker telling someone to eff off on a plane (we can probably rule out the offender being Dennis Bergkamp). Anyway, Wall is here:

Re: Pierre Van Hooijdonk, it seems to have been the day for endorsements yesterday, though I'm not sure how grateful Suarez will have been for the one he received from Sepp Blatter. It tells us all we need to know about Suarez's 'apology' that it was praised by the head of that bastion of responsibility Fifa. I wonder what Lou Vincent is thinking: if only he'd used Suarez's legal and PR teams, he'd have been rewarded with a standing ovation in the NZ parliament, a life-time IPL contract, and a recall to the NZ international side.

7.11am BST

Morning. What about tonight's match, eh? What's that? Ah. Well, what about last night's match? With the goals? And the sendings off? Ah. Well, in the absence of any actual football let's hear from Pierre van Hooijdonk, who got a bit shirty on a flight to Rio when someone made a pop about Arjen Robben being a diver:

I was on a plane sitting next to a Mexican and he showed his friend a video of Robben and he was all like blah blah blah. I said: 'What's the problem?'. He said: 'Robben dived for the penalty'. I just told him to shut the fuck up. Robben didn't dive for the penalty. "I sometimes hate this [talk about Robben being a diver]. It annoyed me that he was talking about that moment. He didn't mention the time in the first half when he should have had two penalties when he was fouled

I would say Robben is a diver at this point but I am terrified of Pierre coming and telling me to flip off (admittedly unlikely seeing as I am in Sydney.

4.28pm BST

Welcome to Thursday's coverage of the World Cup, featuring all the breaking news from Brazil and reaction to the latest results, injury news, squad stories and fan reaction.